Parents of young, school-aged children with specific learning disabilities will have another educational option this fall with the establishment of the Arrowsmith Program at Tecumseh’s Lakeview Montessori School.

“It’s physiotherapy for the brain,” said Allison Hawkins, a member of the school’s board of directors who along with husband Jules helped initiate bringing the concept to Lakeview.

“It fixes, for the lack of a better word, the cause of the problem and doesn’t just treat the symptoms. It gives the child the tools they need.”

The premise of the program is to strengthen weak cognitive capacities in learning disabilities through targeted mental exercises that can alter the structure and function of the brain.

“It was like a fog lifted,” Hawkins said, citing the best description of the program’s impact from a local teenager.

Lakeview is the only institution between here and Guelph to offer the program developed by

psychologist Barbara Arrowsmith Young in 1978 to solve her own severe learning challenges.

The program, which is based on neuroscience research, identifies 19 different SLDs in a multitude of areas including reading, writing, math, visual/auditory memory and attention-deficit issues.

The typical student in the Arrowsmith Program is of average to above average intelligence, has a combination of learning dysfunctions and is of school age.

The program is not aimed at individuals with severe intellectual, cognitive, behavioural or emotional disorders nor is it recommended for those with a brain injury or an autism spectrum disorder.

“There are so many children struggling, dropping out and complaining they can’t learn,” Lakeview principal/executive director Prof. Maureen Harris said of why the school pursued the program.

“Children get labelled. They think they’re dumb and they can develop poor self-esteem. There’s nothing I see in my position that’s sadder.

“This is an opportunity to make a difference. This program works.”

The Toronto Catholic District School Board has had an Arrowsmith Program since 1997 and its studies report it changed the developmental course of the majority of the children in the study.

Other studies at universities in Alberta, B.C. and Ohio also show the program has led to wide-ranging improvements in learning.

The average program takes three or four years and is integrated into the child’s school day.

They’ll spend about half their day doing the specific exercises aimed at strengthening their weaknesses.

Lakeview will have specialized classroom that looks like a technology room, though many of the exercises don’t need technology to complete. An Arrowsmith-trained teacher will be limited to 10 students for the highly individualized programs.

Lakeview, a JK to Grade-8 school of 160 students, will have two-trained teachers in the program. The school has room for 10 more students in its Arrowsmith Program.

“This isn’t a quick fix,” Hawkins said.

“However, after three to five months, the children see the improvement. They get motivated. As a parent, that’s what you want most.”

Hawkins’ long-term goal is to broaden the audience that can participate.

Not everyone can afford Lakeview’s $9,000 annual tuition and the additional $5,000 annual fee for the Arrowsmith Program.

Plans for bursaries, grants, scholarships and sponsorships all figure heavily in the future.

The Lakeview program is already the cheapest Arrowsmith Program in Ontario thanks to donations such as the $10,000 cheque received Monday from 100 Women Who Care.

In comparison, the program costs $23,000 annually in Toronto.

“This is just the kernel,” said Jules Hawkins, who has two sons at Lakeview one of whom will be part of the Arrowsmith Program.

“There are so many frustrated parents looking for help for their children. We want this to be accessible to others who don’t have the financial means to come here.”

Versions of Arrowsmith are also available for older students and adults. The school can’t offer the after-school or adult programs until two years after launching its children’s program.

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